


On The Edge

by KiaraMGrey



Category: Heroes (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Canon Continuation, Drama & Romance, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff and Angst, I Ship It, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 20:49:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16126475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiaraMGrey/pseuds/KiaraMGrey
Summary: This is set after a Brave New World. The world is a dangerous place. When the heroes have to face the consequences of Claire's actions, they gain the help of a new hero. Sylar has to come to terms with his feelings for Claire, all the while trying to prove that he's not the same monster he once was. Meanwhile, the rest of them try to find a place in a world where a mad man wants to destroy them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just like many of the fans, I really did not like the reboot of Heroes. I wrote this fic many years ago, but I've decided to post it now on here. Let me know what you think!

Claire laid in the bed and stared at the ceiling. She strained her ears to hear anything outside her door but there was nothing. Just the sound of her heart beat and her slow breathing. She didn't know how long she had been in here exactly, maybe a few months. With nothing but her thoughts to accompany her, she replayed what had happened.

Once she had leapt from that Ferris wheel, she had hoped that it would be alright. But minutes after jumping dark vans had pulled up and armed men jumped out. They began firing tranquilizer darts into the crowd and they didn't seem to care who they hit. She had watched as both Hiro and Ando took darts and fell to the ground. Several of the carnies had tried to run but they too had been gunned down. She had watched in horror as Peter took three darts before falling. Running she had tried to protect him but she had felt the darts hit her back and knew she wouldn't make it too him. She had landed face first in the dirt as the darkness took over her mind. The last thing she saw was Sylar running towards her while electricity ran all over his body. Then she slid into nothing.

When she came around she was here, strapped down in a bed with doctors looking over her. They had tested her limits of course. Seeing what she could and couldn't do. So far they hadn't found anything that couldn't heal. The doctors would smile at her and call her their little miracle. She had spat into their face and called them very rude names. She had been OK until the injections. The doctors had calmly informed her that they need to reconnect her pain receptors to help them with their research. At first she had been happy. That was what she wanted. Feeling pain was what made her human. But once it had started she hated herself for ever wishing for it. She had to be injected every few days or the pain would go away. And oh how she wished it would. When they cut her foot off she had felt as the blade went through her bone. When then cut her skin off she had screamed and cried, begging them to stop. But of course they hadn't. All she was to them was research. And now she was trapped here with no hope of escape.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kassy looked up at the huge building in front of her. On the outside it looked like a huge factory standing out in the middle of nowhere. But she knew what it was. She could feel them inside the gray building. She was currently disguised as an orderly who worked in the building, just getting to work a little late. The real orderly was of course tied up at his house. He hadn't been her first choice appearance wise being only 5'8 and balding. But she would go unnoticed once she entered and that was what she needed. Her people were in there. Though she didn't know any of them, they were like her and she wouldn't stand for them being rounded up and imprisoned like lab rats. She had used one her many abilities to find them and now that she had she wasn't leaving without them. Walking in she held up her identification card and the guard nodded, letting her through. The building had several stories and hundreds of rooms. She hoped that most of the prisoners were kept on the same floor. She just needed to figure out which floor that was. Getting on an elevator she stared at the buttons trying to decide which one was the correct one. Before she could pick one another man joined her in the elevator.

"Stanly." The man nodded.

She nodded back, wishing she knew this man's name.

"Which floor are you headed to?" He asked.

"I'm going to see the prisoners." She said, peaking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh well that's just the floor below mine." He smiled, pushed the number six.

Kassy nodded and pushed five. The elevator rose too slowly for her liking. She didn't want to have to make conversation with the man beside her. She really would have liked to smash his head through the elevator door but she figured that wasn't subtle enough. She absently reached up to brush her long dark hair out of her face before remember she didn't currently have much hair. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal a long corridor. She stepped out and looked back once more at the other man. He smiled as the doors slid shut. She let out a shiver of revulsion. Turning back to the hallway she got back to her mission.

She chose the first door to her right and peered in. A man lay strapped to a metal table. Sliding her card on the pad, the door opened to let her in. Closing it behind her she observed the man. He had dark hair and thick eyebrows. Four I.V.s were hooked up to him, all dripping a tranquilizer into his system. She wondered what could possibly be so bad about him that he needed four I.V.s. Concentrating she used one of her abilities to freeze frame the camera. Running to him she pulled all four I.V.s out of his skin and began to undo the many straps holding his arms down. These people really didn't want him getting out. His eyes fluttered as he came to, looking around. When his eyes stopped on her he seemed to come out of the daze quicker. She had already undone his arms and was now working on his legs. But with a flick of his hand she was sent flying into the wall. She gave a small cry of surprise.

"What are you doing?" She shouted.

"Killing you." He said, as though it should be obvious.

"Don't be stupid" she glared "I'm getting you out of here."

He frowned "After relishing in my torture for these past few months why would you do that?"

"Oh, right." She said looking down at herself. She had forgotten what she looked like. "I'm not actually this guy. I'm a shape shifter and I broke into this place to get you all out. The real guy is tied up at his house with a pretty bad concussion."

She stared at him realizing that she sounded crazy and he wasn't going to believe her. But to her surprise he did. She slid to ground and helped finish untying his legs.

"We have to hurry. I froze the image on the camera but any minute now they are going to come and check on you."

He nodded and followed her into the hallway.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Sylar."

She raised her eyebrows. Weird name. Just then a scream came from far off somewhere. Sylar froze and looked in the direction the scream had come from.

"Claire." He said quietly.

He obviously knew whoever had screamed. She didn't want to know how he knew what her scream sounded like. He began to walk in the direction it had come from. She grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Wait, you have to help me get the others out."

He turned and gave her a look that would make anybody else run in fear. But she wasn't just anybody. She raised her eyebrows in a challenging manner. He seemed to decide that fighting her wasn't in his best interest so he looked around the hallway. He walked to a door and pointed to the name on the board beside it.

"Him, he will help you."

"Hiro Nakamura." She read out loud.

They both heard the same scream from somewhere in the distance and with that he was gone, running down the hall. She turned back to the door and sighed. Going in she saw a small Asian man lying hooked up to tubes. She quickly pulled those out and unstrapped him. Just then she heard shouts from down the hall. Crap! She shook the man trying to wake him. His eyes fluttered open and stared at her.

"Hurry, we have to go! Men are coming!" she shouted, shaking him just then the door burst open and men began to run in. Then everything stopped. The men stood with their guns partially raised and their faces frozen in random expressions. She looked back at the man and he smiled at her. A time stopper. Well he could be useful.

"Come on." She urged. "We have to get you and all the other prisoners out of here."

He nodded and stood.

"Your name is Hiro?" she asked.

He nodded again "Yes, and what is your name?"

"Kassy."

He stared at her for a moment before saying slowly "That is a good name."

She couldn't help but let out a small laugh. It had been a while since she had laugh. They maneuvered around the men and back into the hall way. They went to each room and pulled the tubes out of each prisoner and untied them. Each time Hiro unfroze and then quickly refroze time while holding the persons hand so that they could move freely with them. Soon they had a very large group of people following them. They guards that had run into Hiro's room where barely turning back to the hall. The next room they went to was for a man named Mohinder.

"Doctor Suresh." Hiro exclaimed.

They did the same thing with him as they had done with all the others. Only this time Hiro leaned in too close as Mohinder woke up. With a cry a surprise Mohinder struck out with his arm. This sent Hiro back into the wall, knocking him unconscious.

"Great!" she cried. "He was our best shot at getting out of here."

"Hiro!" Mohinder cried, leaping from his bed.

"He's fine, just knocked out." She frowned.

There was a shout from down the hall.

"Crap, the guards are coming! Carry him."

He scooped Hiro up and threw him over his shoulder like it was nothing.

"But what's going on?" he asked, following her out of the room.

"This is a jail break."

"But who are you?" he frowned

"Your hero." She said with a flirtatious wink.

For a moment she didn't understand the look her gave her until she once again realized she was a short balding man. She was going to have to drop this disguise soon. It was really getting on her nerves. The crowd followed her down the hall at a fast rate until someone cried out for them to stop. It was a telepath named Matt Parkman.

"Peter's in here! We have to get him out."

At the mention of his name several of the people in the crowd seemed to get more hopeful. Whoever this Peter guy was he was obviously important. Kassy tossed Matt her key card and he ran into the room. Just then there shouts from down the hall, she knew they were coming. Several of the people in the group took off down the hall in the opposite direction, but several others stayed put. She wasn't sure whether this was for this Peter or because they were counting on her to get them out. Mohinder stood with Hiro on his shoulder looking worriedly down the hall. Beside them were people she had just been introduced to. The tall blonde was Tracy and the curly haired boy was Micah. A little girl clung to Mohinder whose name was Molly and behind her was a dark skinned man who Matt had simply called The Haitian. A deaf woman named Emma had her eyes leaping from person to person as though she didn't want to miss anything. There was another Asian man whose name was Ando and another with a thick accent named Edgar. There were many others still there, clinging to each other for support. They all stared down the hall as the shouts became louder. Several people stepped forward as though to protect the rest, but she moved to the front. It was her turn to kill as many of these bastards as she could.

She felt one her powers that she had repressed for a long time quiver to the surface. She didn't like using this power because of the headache it gave her but right now it would be useful.

"Step back." She said to the others. They did as they were told. The air in front of her began to quiver. The men that came around the corner at that moment had no clue what they were stepping into. The moment their bodies came in contact with the air in front of them they disintegrated into nothing. The five men were gone. She turned back to the others who all seemed to be a little more frightened of her now. They looked even more frightened when she gave them a pleased smile.


	2. Chapter 2

The moment Sylar had heard her scream his body had kicked back into motion. A long time ago he had enjoyed the sound of people screaming. At least it felt like a long time ago to him. Trapped in his head with nothing but his thoughts, until Peter came. For those five years alone together they had nothing to do but talk. He was surprised at how much that had helped him. What had once been an unhealthy obsession with Claire had become something different. He felt so sorry for everything he had done to her. Now all he wanted was to protect her. Running down the hallways he followed the screams until they stopped. What did that mean? Had they slit her throat? She would heel from that. But what if they did something worse? What if they cut off her head? She wouldn't come back from that.

Feeling a new fury burning in his skin he raced faster down the hall. He burst through the doors at the end and stopped. A doctor and nurse were standing over Claire's still body. A decapitated leg lay on the table beside them as did a hand. Both appendages were already growing back on her body but she had obviously passed out from the pain. A fury boiled up inside him that made him think of how he used to be. How he was about to be. He held up a hand and both doctor and nurse flew into the wall, their eyes wide with horror.

"You think that's interesting?" he asked nodding to Claire. "You like cutting of her limbs and watching them grow back like a damn Chia Pet?"

The doctor shook his head vigorously. "It's all for research! I don't enjoy it!" he cried.

"Well I'm going to enjoy this." He said, raising his hand. But he stopped. If he killed them brutally there was a good chance he would revert into his old self. Someone that Claire would hate. With a sigh he simply broke their necks, allowing them to die quickly. He turned back to the girl lying limp on the table. She was now fully intact and looked just as he remembered her. He ran a finger over her face to move the hair out of her eyes. He imagined that if she woke up right now to find him touching her she would probably try to bite his finger off. He smirked at that mental image as he picked her up and went to find the others.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kassy led the group of about twenty people down the hall as quickly as she could. They had to find the exit. They couldn't all fit in the elevator and she knew better than for them to split up. Running down the hallway they stopped short. Three men ran around the corner raising guns. She stepped into action. Her fist hit the first man's jaw with a crack. Using one of her favorite abilities she flipped herself over the man and kicked the other in the face. However this body was too short stubby for her to really do much harm. So as she leapt into the air to hit the third man she shifted into her normal self. Within a second long dark hair sprung from her head and she shot up three inches. He waist slimmed considerably her arm grew a few inches longer. So when she brought her fist down on the last man her punch had some extra momentum to it. The man fell but moved to get back up. With a quick twist of her arms she broke his neck. She turned back to the others who all stared with open mouths.

"You're a woman?" Matt asked incredulously. For a telepath he wasn't that bright.

"Duh." She smirked.

Just then the building shook and the wall beside them collapsed. A man stepped through the now large hole. She smiled at the sight of Sylar. There was a gasp of anger and fear from the crowd behind her. So she had been right in thinking this man was dangerous. The only ones who seemed glad to see him were Peter and Emma.

"Sylar!" Peter welcomed, reaching out to his friend. The others looked with obvious confusion between the two men. Emma smiled happily at the sight of him.

Kassy noticed the girl in his arms. Or perhaps 'girl' wasn't the right word. She looked to be about twenty with long blonde hair the hung all around her face.

"Claire!" Peter cried with relief obvious on his face. He reached out and took the girls hand. Sylar held her closer to himself protectively.

"Not that I don't love reunions but we have to go!"

Sylar looked up at her and frowned. "Who are you?"

She rolled her eyes and pointed to the orderlies now very baggy clothes. "I'm the one you tried to kill a bit ago."

"You'll have to be more specific." He smirked, though he obviously now knew who she was.

She led them to a stair case that she prayed would lead them outside. Instead when they burst through the doors at the bottom of the stair they came out into the small sitting area she had first passed through on her way in. Twenty guards were all posed in position with their gun pointed directly at them.

"Surrender now and go back to your rooms or we will open fire." One of the guards shouted.

She wished that Sylar could hear what she was thinking so he could help on her plan. She saw him turn to her out of the corner of her eye and nod. Huh, so he could hear her. At the same time they both lifted a hand, splitting the guards down the middle and sending them flying into the walls. They held them their while the others ran through the door. Sylar still held Claire against himself, cradling her with his one free arm. They ran after the rest into the large expanse of open fields. Hiro had come around and was now stumbling after them, very confused as to what had happened.

She knew that the rest of the guards would be coming after them and there was nowhere else to go. They were stuck.

"Hiro!" Peter cried, grabbing the small man's arm. "How many people can you teleport at the same time?"

Hiro thought about it for a moment before saying "Three!"

Peter nodded "Me too. Where are we going to go?"

"There's a town in Michigan called Kingsford." She said "Go to the address 1664 Garden lane. There's a house there where we will all be safe."

Both men nodded, grabbing hold of others near them.

"Sylar give me Claire." Peter said, reaching for her.

Sylar held her closer to himself for a moment.

"I have to get her out of here. If more guards come you can't fight if you are holding her." Peter reasoned.

After a moment Sylar nodded and dropped her into his arms. With Peter holding Claire and both Micah and Molly cling to him he disappeared. Hiro did the same with Emma, a teenage girl named Amanda, and Tracy. The rest of the group continued to run. She could hear the vans that were now chasing them getting closer. Sylar turned and saw one approaching. He lifted his hand and sent it flying. Peter and Hiro popped back in and grabbed another six. They continued to do this until there were only five of them left. She, Sylar, Matt, Mohinder, and Edgar all ran together. The vans had circled around and were now surrounding them. The men leapt from the open doors and pointed their guns at them.

She prepared herself for a fight, flexing her fingers. With a slight sound Peter appeared next to her. He grabbed both her and Sylar and with a smile and a little wave, they disappeared. The last thing she heard was a gunshot ring out.


	3. Chapter 3

When they reappeared they were standing in front of a huge house. Or maybe mansion was a better description for it. Peter let go of two he held and stepped forward. But before he could do more than take two steps away there was a little gasp beside him. He turned and saw the girl Kassy, their savior, standing with her hand over her stomach. Blood ran through her fingers as she looked up at him with wide eyes. He hadn't been fast enough. The bullet had hit her. As she began to fall he caught her. The rest of the group gasped and gathered around them.

"Give her some room!" Sylar yelled, making many of the people leap back in fear.

"Don't worry." Peter said "I'll teleport to a hospital and get supplies. I can help you!"

She shook her head quickly "There isn't time, I can tell."

This young woman had saved them all and now she was dying. But then he had an idea.

"Wait, you can take others powers, right?"

She nodded, gasping for a breath.

"Bring me Claire!" he shouted.

Ando brought Claire over and laid her beside them.

"She has the power to heal. Take her power," Peter urged.

"It takes at least five minutes for me to absorb a power," She said through her labored breath.

"Try," Peter insisted.

Kassy took Claire's hand and closed her eyes. They all waited. Peter knew that if she blacked out before getting the power she would die. Peter looked up at Sylar who was looking between the two girls with a worried expression. Peter wasn't used to seeing Sylar show such compassion. They were friends now, but he hadn't really been able to see how he interacted with people. Kassy's breathing was becoming shallower. She was obviously struggling to get air. The bullet must have hit a lung. Suddenly she gave a little gasp. Moving her hand from her stomach Peter saw the bullet wiggle its way out as her body rejected it. She sat up blinking at her now healed wound.

"Wow," she said quietly, "That'll come in handy." Peter laughed and helped her to her feet.

Just then a woman came running from the house.

"What is going on here?" she asked, looking at each of the people in her yard. Her eyes stopped on Kassy who now covered in blood.

"Oh my god!" she cried, running forward.

"It's ok," Kassy smiled, "I'm fine."

The woman looked at her like she was crazy.

"Everybody, this is my aunt Laura. Laura these people are special, like me."

Laura raised her eyebrows. "I see. Well I guess you should all come in." She motioned for them to follow her. Sylar lifted Claire and glanced at Peter. All twenty of them were going to be in a house together. This should be interesting.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sylar carried Claire up the stairs and into the house. Her head bounced lightly on his shoulder. He was beginning to worry. She had been unconscious for a long time. Going into the house he saw a living room to his left. A couch sat in the middle of the room that looked like it could seat ten people. He laid Claire onto it. Standing over her she looked so small. Like someone who needed to be protected. Peter joined him, also looking down at her.

"So, which one of you is her boyfriend?"

They both looked up sharply. Kassy was leaning against a wall examining them closely.

"I'm her uncle," Peter frowned.

"And you?" she asked him.

He glanced back at Claire. What was he to her? The monster under her bed? The evil man who had tormented her? To him she was so much more. But to her?

"I'm nothing," he replied.

Kassy raised an eyebrow. "Doubtful.

Sylar frowned at her, trying to be as dangerous looking as he could. She smirked. He shook his head and looked away. This girl either had a death wish or was far to brave for her own good.

Laura walked into the room. "So, are any of you hungry?"

There was a collective murmur of yes through the room. Laura nodded.

"Ok, well I don't have much but I have about twelve boxes of Mac n' Cheese I could make."

"Yum!" Molly cried.

"Alright," Laura laughed, "I'll get to it."

Sylar sat at the end of the couch by Claire's feet. Others sat around the living room in chairs or on the floor. Nobody wanted to sit too close to him though it seemed. Except for Emma. She sat down right beside him and gave him a comforting smile. She was the only one here that had never seen what he was. She didn't know the monster that hid just beneath the surface, just the man who had saved her.

He smiled back at her, trying look as uncreepy as he could. He didn't want to frighten off one of the only people who felt comfortable around him. He couldn't help his eyes glancing back at Claire. One arm hung from the couch and the other lay loose on her stomach. She was breathing easily and looked at peace. He wished she would wake up soon. Tracy turned to look at Kassy.

"Ok so what's going on? An hour ago we were all strapped down and being experimented on and now we are sitting in your living room. Who are you and why did you save us?"

Kassy stepped forward into the middle of the room. All eyes stared at her. She seemed to be thinking of the best way to start. He leaned forward and listened, waiting for her to lie.

"Ok, well you all know my name's Kassy. I'm an empath and I can absorb abilities. For the past two years my whole mission in life has been to help other people who are special. When I heard about what had happened at the carnival I knew that it had to do with people like us. I used an ability I have to find you. The more specials that are in a certain area the stronger the pull is. From how strong the pull was coming from that building I knew it had to be where they had taken you. I planned for a few months before deciding what the best plan of action was and then I came for you."

"Yes, but why?" Mohinder asked.

Kassy sighed. "Two years ago some guys came after me and my little brother. I didn't have all these powers like I do now and I couldn't stop them. They killed my little brother. Ever since then I have been kind of obsessed with killing them and saving our kind. I've brought others here before to help them, just… not so many," she said, letting her eyes move around the room.

Sylar leaned back, surprised. She hadn't lied once. He noticed Matt relax too. Others nodded accepting her words. A few minutes later Laura came in to announce that the food was done. A little girl came in behind her. She couldn't have been older than three with long dark hair and big blues eyes. To his confusion her eyes lit up at the sight of him. She ran forward and climbed into his lap. He stared at her in shock. Several of the people in the room seemed to lean forward with nerves at the sight of him so close to a child. What did they think he was going to do? Kill this little girl? With irritation he realized that's exactly what they thought.

"Pwince charming!" she exclaimed in her high pitched voice, pointing a finger at him.

Laura laughed. "Everyone this is Rose, my daughter. I think she thinks you look like the prince from her fairy tales," She said with a smile.

Raising an eyebrow he wondered exactly what fairy tales she had been reading to her daughter. He looked back at the girl and smiled.

"And does that make you the princess?"

She nodded quickly.

"Well my lady, may I just say you are looking exquisite to day." He gave her kiss on her hand. With a squeal of joy she leapt from his lap and ran down the hall. She came back a moment later pulling another little girl behind her. Both girls looked very similar though the other looked to be about six.

"Say high to everyone Lily." said Laura.

The girl flopped her hand at them in a hello.

"Well don't just sit around! Come eat!" Laura urged. They didn't have to be told twice.


	4. Chapter 4

When Claire opened her eyes she expected to see the bright lights of the operating table. Instead soft light seemed to be coming from a window. She opened her eyes more to see she was on a soft couch. Hiro and Ando were sitting by her and Micah was lying on the floor while turning the channels of a TV seemingly with his mind. She felt her heart sink when she realized she must be dreaming. Other specials sat around the room. Some were talking while others were playing a board game.

"Cheerleader!" Hiro exclaimed.

She smiled sadly at him. That was always what the real Hiro called her. Others around the room had sat up and looked at her. Two men entered the room. Dream Peter playfully shoved dream Sylar. At the sight of her both men stopped. Of course Sylar would be here. He was always in her dreams and nightmares. She stood from the couch.

"Claire!" Peter exclaimed happily, running to her. Sylar followed close behind.

She wrapped her arms around him and wished it were real. Her eyes moved to Sylar. He looked different in this dream that had in real life. He looked calmer and more at ease. That hunger she had always seen was still there, but it had changed somehow. He looked more handsome in this dream. She reached out a hand and touched his chest. He froze and looked at her hand in surprise. She had never been able to get a reaction like that from him before. He was always too witty and hostile to show such emotion.

"Why do you always follow me into my dreams?" she asked.

Peter pulled back to stare at her. Sylar had raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Claire." Peter said slowly "You aren't dreaming."

"Of course I am," she countered. She looked back at Sylar. "So is this the part of the dream where you cut my scalp off?"

There was a sharp intake of breath from around the room. A sadness entered Sylars eyes that surprised her. He reached out a hand to touch her face. She didn't pull back. He couldn't hurt her in her dreams. Not really. But he didn't even try.

"Claire you aren't dreaming. This is real. We were rescued from that place," he said gently.

She shook her head. "No, please don't say that. Because when I wake up and everything is gone it will break my heart."

"They're telling the truth."

Claire looked at the girl who had spoken. Her dark hair hung past her chest and she had eyes that would have seemed too large on any other face, but on her they fit. Freckles were splattered across her nose and cheek bones and she had to be at least 5'11. She didn't know this girl. Reality came crashing down on Claire. She gasped, pulling her face from Sylars touch.

"What's going on? How did we get out? Where are we? What's going on!" she shouted, feeling panic take over her body in her confusiom.

"I'll tell you everything," Peter said, taking her hand and leading her away. She looked over her shoulder at Sylar. He looked after here with a mix of emotions on his face. She felt revolted that she had let him touch her. Letting Peter lead her she left the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sylar watched Claire go. He couldn't begin to describe the sadness her words had made him feel. Of course she still had nightmares of what he had done to her. What else had he expected? For her it had only been six months since had tormented her at her college. He felt ill as he sat down on the couch. He saw Hiro slide closer to him.

"What is wrong brain man?" he asked.

"Can you please not call me that?" He frowned.

He saw Ando reach out to pull Hiro away but he shook his head at his friend.

"You look sad. I have seen you angry and scared, but never sad."

Sylar let out a sigh. "I'm afraid that what you told me all those years ago is going to come true. I'm afraid that I'll die alone."

Hiro thought about that for a moment. "You cannot change the past brai- Sylar. But you can change the future."

Sylar glanced at him. "Do you think so?"

"Yes, if it is what you truly want."

Hiro walked away, leaving him alone again. Was being good what he truly wanted? Yes. He wanted to be a better man. Not just for Claire but for himself. All he had ever done was destroy his life. Sure he had power, but he was completely alone. And if he didn't change he would be alone for his very long life. He couldn't imagine that. It was his worst nightmare. He had lived it for three years before Peter had come to his rescue and saved him from his own mind. Multiply that by a million and that would be his life. Only this time Peter wouldn't be there to pull him out. Claire was his only hope.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Peter finished telling Claire what had happened and how they had escaped, all she could was look at him. It didn't seem real.

"So you are saying Sylar broke me out of my room? He touched me?" Claire was horrified.

"Claire listen, things have changed. He isn't the same man he was before."

"He'll always be the same," she argued.

"No, he isn't. I spent five years alone with him. When you spend that much one on one time with someone you get to know them better than you want to. I forgave him Claire because he truly wants to be different and is fighting for a change."

Claire shook her head, not wanting to look at him.

"He killed Nathan."

"Yes he did." Peter agreed. "But for us that was a long time ago. He doesn't kill any more. He wants to be a good man and we should help him."

"Help him?" Claire cried, "Why would I help him after everything he has done?"

"Because wouldn't you rather have a good Sylar in the world rather than a deranged psycho killer?"

She thought about it. He was right. If she could do anything to stop anybody else from dying, shouldn't she do it?

"What if he isn't different?" she asked quietly. "What if he goes back to killing people again?"

"He won't," Peter said confidently. "I trust him."

Claire raised her eyebrows. "Well I don't. But I trust you. I'm not going to start giving him hugs or anything but I won't be purposely mean if he isn't."

"That's all I ask." He smiled.

She nodded and walked back to the living room. Some of the people were watching TV on the big sixty inch screen. Others were sitting around a table near the back of the room talking animatedly. She froze when she saw him. He was talking to Emma, who sat close to him and was following his mouth with her eyes. He was smiling as he talked and for once he didn't look completely evil. She narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn't just going to believe that he had changed so quickly. Claire followed Peter to stand in front of them. When Sylar noticed her he looked up and stared.

"So are you all clued in?" he asked.

"For the most part," She glared.

He looked away with an almost bashful look. Claire looked out the window and saw that it was nearly dark.

"Where's the lady that owns this house?" she asked.

"My aunt's in the kitchen."

They all looked up at the girl Peter had said was named Kassy. Claire examined her with interest. She had long dark hair that hung nearly to her waist, but it wasnt dead and stinging like some peoples hair when it got too long. It was soft and wavy. She was very tall, nearly six feet it seemed. Despite her height however many of her facial feature were small. She had tiny ears that you could only see if she moved all of her hair to one side. Her lips and nose were both small, yet not too small to look off on her face. But her eyes. They were most definitely not small. They were large and round and dark. The deep brown flecked with gold was a lovely color and it made her eyes seem alive. Claire realized with embarrassment that she was staring openly at the girl.

"Well I just wanted to thank her for letting us stay here," Claire explained.

"If you are going to thank any one it should be Kassy," Peter said.

"I don't need to be thanked," Kassy said, shaking her head.

"Of course you do. Who else would risk their life to save people they don't even know?"

"You." Kassy offered.

Peter opened his mouth to protest but Claire put a hand on his chest to stop him.

"Well, thank you anyways." Claire smiled before walking past them to the kitchen. She found Laura standing in front a long marble counter wrapping some food up. She looked to be in her early thirties with short blonde hair and blues eyes. Small wrinkles had formed near her eyes due to smiling too much. She smiled when she saw her.

"Finally you are awake."

"Yeah Peter just filled me in on what's happened."

"Good. I was worried that man was going to bite his nails off worrying about you."

Claire assumed she meant Peter.

"Yeah well nothing can really hurt me, so there was no need to worry." Claire explained.

Laura nodded. "Peter told me what you can do. Maybe you can't be hurt physically but emotionally I'm sure you can still hurt."

Claire just shrugged, wanting to change the subject. "So how do you fit into all this? What made you want to open your home to people like us?"

"Well it wasn't really my decision. Kassy showed up on my door step about a year ago and showed me what she could do. I was surprised at first and a little scared, but she is my family, and I'm all she really has left. I couldn't abandon her."

Claire nodded, understanding.

"When she told me what happened to her little brother I cried for days. I had lost my husband a year earlier and I couldn't cope with losing another member of my family. Kassy's mother, Tara, was my older sister. I was only twelve when Kassy was born and my sister was nineteen. Kassy's father was never in the picture so they lived with us for five years before Tara ran away with Kassy and handsome man she met at work. It wasn't until three years later that she showed up with a little baby and Kassy, who by that point was eight."

"What was her brother's name?" Claire wondered.

"Andrew. He was sweet little boy, so full of life and happiness. When Kassy was fifteen and Andrew was seven Tara moved them all to Nevada. Tara died two years later. I looked everywhere for Kassy and Andrew but I couldn't find them. It wasn't until last year that I found out everything that had happened."

"And what exactly happened?" Claire asked.

Laura sighed. "I think that's something you should ask Kassy. It isn't my business telling people things she may not want anyone to know."

Claire nodded "Well thank you. You didn't need to help us."

"It's really no problem. I have nothing better to do and it feels good helping people in need. I can't imagine what I would do if anybody tried to take Kassy from me. Besides, after my husband died he left me more money than I know what to do with and my daughters like meeting people like Kassy."

"You have daughters?"

"Yes, Lily is six and Rose is three. I think they are playing in their playroom right now."

"Oh could I maybe say hi to them?"

"They would love that." Laura beamed.

Claire followed her directions and found the room after only a minute of searching. Two little girls sat in the middle of a large circular room. They were both dressed like princesses and were waving fairy wands around in the air. The older one was yelling at younger one.

"You have to be the bad fairy Rose! We can't both be good!"

"No, I'm good!"

"But that's not fun!"

Rose noticed Claire and smiled. "Sleeping beauty!"

Both girls ran to the door.

"Did the prince kiss you and wake you up?" Lily asked.

"The prince?" Claire asked.

"Yes, the scary one." Lily giggled.

"Not scary, nice!" exclaimed Rose.

The scary prince? "Do you mean Sylar?"

"Prince Sylar!" Rose exclaimed.

Claire frowned. Why, out of all of the other men in the house, would they think Sylar was a prince? She supposed they were children and didn't know any better.

"My names Claire."

"Princess Claire!" Rose corrected gleefully.

"I suppose I can be a princess." Claire smiled.

"Do you want to play?" Lily asked.

Claire smiled. "Absolutely."


End file.
